One of our most common requests from clients is to guide them through Ripoff Report removal options.

The reason for this is simple, having a Ripoff Report about you or your business really stinks. It can cost you money, a job, or damage your overall reputation.

Anyone can write a report about you with little to no proof, and the Ripoff Report will likely show up in your search results (and take some real effort to get rid of).

So what can you do to remove your Ripoff Report?

Since we’ve been doing this for quite some time, we know how to deal with sites like Ripoff Report. From outright removal to suppression, we’ve tried it all, and only keep the most effective long-term strategies in our company’s playbook

And guess what? We’re going to share it with you.

We want you to have a complete understanding of your options for removing a Ripoff Report. It’s something we’ve seen hurt a lot of people, and we want to do what we can to help at scale.

Read it, take action on it, and let us know if you need any help along the way!

What is Ripoff Report?

Let’s start here so you know what you’re dealing with from top to bottom.

Ripoff Report is a privately owned and operated for-profit website that lets anyone publish their opinions or complaints about other people or businesses. The site encourages and even requires authors to only file truthful reports, but they do not guarantee that all reports are authentic or accurate.

While consumer reviews and complaints are of course important and should be heard, a major criticism of this site is that there is no fact checking or follow up with these complaints. While other large review sites have made serious efforts to fight against false negative reviews, that does not seem to be the case with Ripoff Report.

This means it is very easy for a disgruntled employee, business competitor, anyone who doesn’t like you to create a Ripoff Report that is very difficult to remove.

Want help fixing your Ripoff Report?

Our tool has helped half a million people just like you deal with Ripoff Reports showing up in Google.

How to Remove Ripoff Reports From Google Search Results

When it comes to fighting a complaint from ripoffreport.com, there are of course options. If you know who the complainant is, you can appeal to them directly. However, this person will not be able to delete the original comment. The best that they can do is add on to the original – which ultimately may just make the negative report rank higher in search results. And if the person who aired their grievances through ripoffreport.com is unreasonable, then this request may make things worse for you.

Best case scenario? They do nothing. Worst case scenario? They file more complaints or continue to update the original complaint. This is one of the main reasons why Ripoff Report removal is so darn tricky.

If you respond directly on the platform to the complaint, then you are keeping that page active and actually helping it rank better. You could try and email the webmaster at Ripoff Report, though the likelihood of a response is slim to nil.

Another option is to try submitting a takedown request to Google and other search engines.

However, in all likelihood this particular complaint won’t fall into the categories that are approved for removal requests.

You could also hire legal counsel in your quest to remove these unflattering and unfounded comments. While there are a few examples of individuals successfully suing Ripoff Report, (most often when a complaint on the site crosses over from informative to defamatory) this is not the norm. If you can afford it, this is definitely something you can try. The downside here is that the results aren’t consistent, and the legal process is a pain that most people don’t want to go through. The expense and time investment for an option that doesn’t guarantee Ripoff Report removal often leaves people frustrated.

Additionally, ripoffreport.com offers a “corporate advocacy program” which is a pay service to have Ripoff Report investigate the legitimacy about the claims made against you or your business on the site.

These findings will then be posted above the original complaint. While this solution may be enough for some, others may find the fact that the original content is still available troubling – or feel that this process is too close to extortion. Ripoff Report also offers a “VIP Arbitration Program”, this requires a fee to question the validity of the accusation.

From here, Ripoff Report may agree with you then redact the falsehoods in a statement on the site.

Unfortunately, neither of these services from Ripoff Report are guaranteed to work, nor do they completely remove the offending comments from the internet. They also don’t protect you from possible reports later on down the line, so there’s a chance you end up right where you started.

Because of the uncertainty attached to these solutions, we highly suggest suppression as the most effective alternative. When figuring outhow to remove ripoff reports, this is something we have had the most success with.

What is Suppression?

Suppression is the act of building up online properties and websites to outrank something negative (in this case a Ripoff Report). It’s also a go-to tactic in almost all online reputation management campaigns. There are a few reasons why we tend to recommend this option for most people.

First off, you deal with the primary problem you’re having. Suppressing a Ripoff Report has the same effect as removing it from Google search results when done properly. By burying it significantly you eliminate the chance of anyone seeing it, which is what you’re after.

Also, with suppression you (or whoever is handling your campaign for you) have more control. Unlike passing things off to a lawyer or dealing with Ripoff Report’s programs, you know if things are done properly you will have success. The only question is how long it will take.

Lastly, you get the benefit of building up a positive online presence while you execute your Ripoff Report removal strategy. When everything is complete you will not only have taken care of the Ripoff Report, but will have a fantastic online reputation that can aid your professional life.

While the details of suppression can get a bit complex, the 3-step process of building, establishing and maintaining your online presence is the best way to enhance what you look like online. This is what we execute for our clients, and what any reputable firm should do as well.

In our experience…

At BrandYourself, we have had a number of clients suffering from unfounded attacks on ripoffreport.com. Through these experiences, we’ve learned a lot when figuring out how to push down ripoff reports, and what to expect.

While every situation is different, here are a few common trends we’ve noticed when dealing specifically with Ripoff Reports.

Are Ripoff Report search results difficult to bury?

It all depends. When it comes to predicting whether or not it will be easy to suppress a Ripoff Report, you have to consider a number of factors. First, ask yourself the following questions:

How competitive are the search results for your name or business?

What information is already online about you (or your business)?

When was the complaint published?

Is the page regularly updated?

If you have a common name (like “Sarah Smith”), or share a name with a celebrity (like Kim Kardashian), it’s going to be challenging to create a personal brand that outranks all of those other search results. However, this may work in your favor in the case of dealing with a Ripoff Report. Those other search results may suppress this negative result. However, if you have a unique name – and there isn’t much online about you, chances are also pretty good that the professional profiles and personal websites that you create and optimize for your name will rank.

When it comes to dealing with a Ripoff Report, the information that is already online about you (or your business) can either help or hurt you. If there’s already tons of positive press from reputable sites, or you already have a great Twitter and Medium account, chances are – your Ripoff Report won’t be all that damaging. People who search for you will see more aspects of who you are than the single opinion someone shared on Ripoff Report. However, if there’s little about you to begin with, that Ripoff Report doesn’t have anything to compete with and will probably rank well fairly quickly.

In terms of the timing of the complaint, Google and other search engines tend to favor both very old and very new search results. So if this RipoffReport is either from last week or from 5 years ago, it may have some authority in the eyes of the search engine.

In addition to those listed above, there are even more factors that can make ripoff reports challenging.

The domain is authoritative: Ripoffreport.com tends to rank high. This means that any new pages on this domain are also likely to rank well.

The name is catchy: Unfortunately, ripoff report appeals to our baser instincts. The thought of reading about “scams” and “fraud” entices users to click through the site. This sort of clickbaiting encourages traffic which also helps the site’s authority.

Updates make the page rank higher: In addition to having a click-baity name and an authoritative domain, users often keep their complaints active and ranking well by adding to the content on the page. When the people launching the complaint are spiteful, this tends to encourage others to chime in as well. This makes search engines like Google view this page as relevant and content-rich, which makes the page rank higher.

While Ripoff Reports tend to be difficult to bury, it’s absolutely possible. By building, optimizing and regularly publishing high quality content online, you stand the best chance at overcoming the negativity associated with a Ripoff Report.

Actually I think Ripoff Report Serves a good purpose. I was recently taken to the cleaners by a Facebook Ad Agency and I felt compelled to inform others so that they would not fall into the same trap. Yes it can be a double edge sword, but if the facts are started clearly and honestly in the filed complaint it gives the reader an “opinion” to consider before doing business with a company.

Dan while you find the site as serving a good purpose, there is a major flaw. The problem is that the site does not require legal identity from the complaint poster. That means anyone can put that you are a child molester but they are too afraid to report you to police… they do it from a fake email at a library and are untraceable. You cannot hold them accountable for slandering you. Guess what Dan, your life just changed forever. And guess what Dan, the owner of Rip off reports gets off on people being slandered and defamed and contacting him in desperation (that’s documented). And guess what Dan it doesn’t matter how much money or attorneys you have because they will not get that statement removed. If that doesn’t put chills down your spine and the fact that you probably posted this with your real name…and anyone can put you on their then you don’t know the power of Ripoff Reports and Google. You can’t get a new job, you probably won’t get a place rented to you, your neighbors may isolate you, and you’ll never know if the reason you never get selected is because your fake rip off report. Guess what Dan, I haven’t been able to use my name going on 8 years. Suppression is an ongoing losing battle and when you stop, RR goes right to the top. I’m considering legally changing my name because one business associate felt wronged. But he didn’t post what his issue was with me, he made up stuff and added in a hint of harming him and his daughters, all of which is fabricated. So now what, not only have I not been able to get a job and have had to work on my own under company names with no association to my legal name, my kids are starting to be effected by it too. You know what happens when they google their dad? Ripoff reports says dads a bad guy. And that recently happened, my teen daughter came to me about it. So now my three children have to feel some shame being associated with me online. I don’t use my real name on facebook or any other place since this happened. Think about that Dan. Everyone think about that. I wish congress would address this loop hole that allows this to happen. People have committed suicide because of ripoff reports. But nobody cares until it happens to them.